HANDCRAFTED PERFECTION: Scott’s Cobra Replica

Up until very recently, Slowlife has catered predominantly to the JDM and Euro owners within the Adelaide car community. This wasn’t for any particular reason, though! It’s more than likely due to the fact that when SL began in 2014, the crew all owned JDM cars and the community base grew from there.

What a lot of you don’t know is that we love our muscle cars. We just don’t see enough of them,unfortunately (we’d love to see more, so you’re more than welcome at our events if you own one) so it’s about time we changed that with a feature which left us(and thousands of others) gawking when it was unveiled at the recent Adelaide Auto Expo…

We’ve seen many AC Cobra replica builds over the years, and they’re impressive to say the least. With workshops specialising in reproducing the iconic Anglo-American classic; bodies are now being manufactured so similar to original specification (including the tools used to form the curvaceous fenders the Cobra is renowned for) that you would have to be a very trained eye to spot the difference. This particular build,though, is something different, and truly special. Let’s talk about Scott’s Cobra replica, and why it’s the perfect Cobra build.I

So it’s like this – the chassis is from Queensland, the hand-made body is from New South Wales, and the motor’s from a VF HSV GTS. Let’s rewind a bit to work out how all of this actually came about, and delve into just how extraordinary this build is.

Scott purchased his replica as an unfinished project from Western Australia, which at the time did not include a motor or gearbox. It was, however, set up at the time to run a Ford V8. The chassis itself was produced by Queensland-based replica manufacturers Absolute Pace, and the stunning brushed aluminium bodywork was handcrafted by NSW-based and renowned coachbuilder Mark Nugent. With the framework and key to a build unlike any other; Scott had what there was of the car brought to Adelaide where the real fun began.I

As mentioned; the car was designated to receive a Ford V8, but Scott had a different vision for his car… And a bloody solid decision, too. He took the legendary 6.2L supercharged and intercooled LSA motor from a HSV VF GTS, paired it with a six-speed manual transmission, and had our friends at Mobile AutoCare make it all fit snugly under the hood of what is now going to be a550+ HP powerhouse in a lightweight aluminium shell with carbon fibre components… It’s starting to sound more terrifying that beautiful now. We like where this is going.

The interior couldn’t have been trimmed in a better colour. Quality Motor Trimming ensured that red leather and carpet adorned the (rather small)cockpit of the Cobra, and paired with a carbon fibre dash fascia, wooden steering wheel, classic gauges and dials and an in-car entertainment system by Tonkins; created a symphony of classic and modern livery brought into a car which almost seems to be suspended in time. There’s just something about the red with the brushed aluminium which takes the look of the car to the next level.I

The body, though. Oh, the body.It’s absolutely awe-inspiring. It’s not every day that you can lay your eyes on a brushed aluminium body, and the work by renowned NSW-based coachbuilder Mark Nugent. If you’ve heard of Nugent’s work before, or if you’ve seen the portfolio of bodies that he’s fabricated (the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing and Porsche 356 just as an appetiser), you would be fast to agree that what we just spent several hours with over the weekend wasn’t something that could be achieved by just any bodyshop or fabricator, and is in fact the work of a very rare breed of automotive craftsmen who should be regarded as masters of their trade. For the JDM and Euro readers out there; it’s like having Akira Nakai work on your RWB build. The Cobra’s body was recreated using the age-old techniques and methods of the original 1962 Cobra and involved hand-crafting the body panels, gas welding and riveting upon an ash timber frame. A hard-top with gullwing doors accompanies the car (which it donned at the Expo this year), but this lady was topless during our rendezvous.

This body isn’t that of a mass-produced kit car pushed out of a mould… It’s the handmade body of a craftsman.

The future of Scott’s Cobra is certain – it’s going to get out and drive. The car was unveiled at the Adelaide Auto Expo, and when the sheet cascaded off the flawless bodywork, we heard countless gasps, cheers and claps.It was like the final performance of a great composer, and the dozens welcomed the new build to our loving car community. As the build nears completion(engine looming, tune and compliance); Scott intends to take the car where it belongs – the road.

Although the majority of us here at Slowlife own JDM and Euro cars; we can’t help but genuinely appreciate and yearn for a build like this some day.We can only imagine the hours and hard work that was poured into the bodywork,the precision involved in ensuring that every facet of the car was perfect, and the sheer love that went into this machine to bring it a personality of its own. It’s certainly beyond anything that we’ve achieved thus far in our youth, and we eagerly look forward to the next time we cross paths with what we’re regarding as the perfect Cobra.

SLOWLIFE GIRL PROFILE

Anastasia Helbig

Anastasia has been with the Slowlife family since mid this year.Hailing from the Barossa Valley; Anastasia an eighteen year-old born and raised in the SA wine region, and still resides there today! She’s one of our most passionate and committed members of the team – she makes the trip to Adelaide for each and every Slowlife event or team social occasion and lives and breathes the Slowlife brand.

She works as an apprentice chef in a nearby hotel, and we’re told that she’s good with a knife… It’s why we refrain from getting on her nerves (which isn’t hard for us in all honesty). Slowlife has fast become her home away from home, and we’re glad to have somebody around who won’t set pancakes on fire (this is actually a thing, it happened,we can’t cook okay).

Ana’s love of cars stems from her family, and it’s a love for classic and muscle cars dating back to her childhood. We picked her for this shoot,because she appreciates this build more than anybody else on the team. As she’s got a lot of long commutes and has only finished high school last year; Ana’s currently in her trusty ‘ol Holden Cruze, but we know that she’s yearning (and saving furiously) for her dream car – the current model Mustang GT. We can appreciate this, and we look forward to seeing our first muscle car join the Slowlife garage! She’s good with knives so we suggested that she could probably get a free one if she wanted to, but we don’t think that she saw the funny side of that one…

She’s not just a pretty face, though. Anastasia also assists our events team with strategizing future event plans and assists our merchandising team with ideas of potential new additions! She’s a highly valued member of our family, and we’re very fortunate to have somebody so talented and passionate at such a young age on our team. This is Ana’s first feature with us, and after six months behind the scenes and representing the SL Girls at our events, she’s ready to take on SlowCase 2019!I

Managing director of Slowlife and one of the original founding members.
Passionate about all things Slowlife, and has been one of the minds behind Slowlife's events and media since 2014.
Also owns a widebody tilty wheel car that struggles to get out of the driveway without scraping, and is often seen crying over doggo memes whilst on a caffeine binge.